The Support of a Friend [Closed]

Blizzardstar took a deep breath before walking out of her den and towards the warrior’s den, looking for her deputy inside it. It was fairly early in the morning, she knew that perfectly, but she couldn’t let this wait any longer. The clan was suffering because of how much she had stalled this issue and if she didn’t act quickly they would start to weaken too much to fight if things took a turn for the worst and war broke out.

After her talk with Honeyspark she almost had decided to immediately leave to talk with Ivystar, try to come to an agreement with the RiverClan leader to avoid a war…but at the very last second she had decided against it. While doing so was still in her plans she needed to speak with Leopardclaw first. He wasn’t only her deputy, but also a friend she knew she could always rely on and that would be able to keep this secret for as long as it was needed. Unlike Darkstar and Honeyspark, she wasn’t expecting an answer from him that could give her an idea to avoid conflict, but advice to what could happen if things didn’t go as planned. Unlike her, Leopardclaw was a brave warrior who knew how to pick his fights and win them, and if a war broke out between the two clans over that piece of territory there was none she would trust more to lead her clan against them, herself included.

“Leopardclaw, are you in here?” She looked around the den, searching for the golden tom with her ice blue eyes.

Leopardclaw was curled up, fast asleep, in his nest near the center of the den, comforted and lulled by the warmth flooding from the sleeping bodies of his clanmates around him.  The chill of the early leaf-bare morning had so far been unable to penetrate the thick bramble walls, and thankfully the warriors within had - for now - been spared from the freezing touch of the frosty dawn.  When someone pushed their way through the entrance though, a gust of frigid air blew it's way through the nests, and began to call the golden deputy back into the waking world.  Hearing Blizzardstar's call through bleary ears, the spotted tabby tom blinked open his eyes, a faint shiver running down his spine.  It took him a moment to process what was happening; why did Blizzardstar want him so early in the morning?; but after a few moments of unfocused blinking and one huge yawn, the tom-cat clambered to his paws and maneuvered his way through the congested den, coming to a halt in front of the snowy leader.  "W..what is it Blizzardstar....?"  The blunt tone in his voice was beyond his control for the moment, his brain still in the process of fully waking up.  In a dazed fog, he vaguely wondered what this was about...I'm not late to set the patrols...and I don't think anything's attacking...huh.

Blizzardstar smiled at his friend when he woke. Part of her felt somewhat guilty for forcing him to leave the warmth of the warrior’s den so early, but this was something that couldn’t wait any longer “Sorry for waking you up but…we need to talk” Her last words had a clear tone of urgency in them, making it clear that this was not debatable and couldn’t wait until later on that day. She turned around and flicked her long fluffy tail “Come with me” She wasn’t even done speaking when she walked out of the warrior’s den and towards her own. This was the third time she did this, and even with that in mind she simply couldn’t help but feel a bit uncomfortable with her mysterious behavior. Keeping secrets from her clan didn’t sit well for her, but there was no need to agitate their clanmates before time.

Leopardclaw pricked his black tipped ears curiously, the deeply grave tone resounding in his leader's voice quickly chasing away the leftover foggy blur of sleep, to be replaced in his mind with curiosity...and concern.  The disoriented gleam vanishing from his greenish-hazel eyes,  the spotted tabby tom nodded seriously and extended his spine in a long stretch, his body quivering from the effort.  Following Blizzardstar out of the den, he was hit by a wave of fresh, freezing cold morning air, and he tried his best to control the shivering induced by the sudden temperature change.  It was at times like this that he greatly envied cats who had long, thick pelts, like his friend who walked ahead of him; he guessed that it would be like wearing your nest over your back...comfortable, and warm...

He hastened across the clearing towards the Highrock, following the pale-pelted she-cat's lead.  His curiosity about this meeting was only growing by the second, and possible scenarios began to form in his mind, none of them good.  How could this possibly be good news, when the usually open and honest Blizzardstar was pulling him away into her den in the dead of the morning?  Apprehension gnawed at his stomach as his face resumed it's usual stoic, thoughtful expression; whatever he was going to learn today, he was prepared to handle it.

Blizzardstar sighed deeply before walking inside her den, taking a spot away from the entrance to sit down and wait for her friend and deputy to come in, mostly as a way to avoid the word getting out by having someone accidentally catching part or their whole conversation if they got too close…especially since most hopes of taking Sunningrocks without bloodshed were starting to vanish after her talks with Darkflight and Honeyspark.

“I’m sorry for waking you up so early, Leopardclaw…but you know I wouldn’t had done it if it wasn’t important” Her voice was soft an gentle, but behind her calm façade a clear tone of nervousness and even fear could be easily caught, especially if anyone looked at her distressed eyes. For moons she had worked on hiding her emotions for various reasons, as well as faking others, but her eyes would never cooperate, and anyone that was close enough to her would easily be able to tell what she was really feeling just by looking at them “I…had a dream, but not a regular one. I was visited by a cat from StarClan in it and we had a short talk” She shuffled her paws a bit while avoiding the gaze of the golden tom, trying to not make this sound as bad as it probably was “They made me a direct request, to take back Sunningrocks from RiverClan. Long before you were even born, that piece of territory belonged to ThunderClan, but our neighbors took it from us…usually wouldn’t even think on something as dangerous as trying to negotiate with RiverClan over it in this harsh season, but we both know that ThunderClan needs that piece of territory. We need the prey and scarce herbs that are in it…”.

She raised her eyes to finally meet Leopardclaw’s gaze “But if the negotiations fail…we might go to war Leopardclaw…”.

Leopardclaw ducked into the leader's den behind Blizzardstar, and felt a rush of relief as warmth once again touched his fur, the stone walls of the small cave fully blocking the chilled breeze that whipped about outside.  Granted it wasn't as warm as the warrior's den, since Blizzardstar slept alone, but it was sufficient enough.  In the moment though, the petty complains of cold toes seemed the least of his concerns compared to whatever news his leader was about to drop on him, and he seated himself at a respectful distance from the pale-pelted she-cat.

His face breaking for a moment into a half-smile, the golden spotted tom purred casually; "It's fine Blizzardstar, it'll let me get a head start on organizing the patrols for today."  His futile attempt to lighten the tense - borderline sad - mood that hung like fog in the den fell flat though as soon as Blizzardstar opened her mouth once again, and Leopardclaw listened in shocked silence as she began to explain what was troubling her.  A dream...from StarClan?  "Who-"  He cut himself off; he had been about to ask who had spoken to her.  It didn't matter who had brought this news, he had to remind himself, this situation was obviously too grave to bring up his own whimsies and desires.  If it had been Grasswhisker or Cherrykit who had spoken to her, he imaged Blizzardstar probably would've revealed that to him already...  

In a moment though, any distracting thoughts such as that had been eliminated.  "T..take back Sunningrocks?!"  Even though it had been a long time ago, and he hadn't really cared at the time, Leopardclaw clearly remembered older warriors talking wistfully on patrols by the RiverClan border, speaking of those times when they placed their marks on the rocks, not behind.  It was a common place for border skirmishes, especially in these trying times, and ThunderClan had even taken up refuge there while fire ravaged their territory.  It was on those stones that his beloved daughter had taken her last trembling breath.  He knew full well though, that this reccomendation did not come from a place of clan pride or sentiment; it was out of necessity.  That same firestorm that had landed the final blow on Cherrykit's fragile body had also burned their beautiful territory into ash, leaving most prey dead or scattered.  The clan had hoped the forest would recover in time for leaf-bare...their hopes had been in vain.  Prey was scarcer than ever, and every cat was feeling the effects of hunger, including Leopardclaw.  His stomach twinged as if on cue, reminding the deputy that he had not eaten since yesterday morning; a scrawny finch was all he had been willing to take.  By the day his clanmates had begun to look more and more bony, and it was obvious something must be done, before sickness lay waste to their vulnerable bodies.

Leopardclaw's determined eyes narrowed, his face twisted with severity and worry; StarClan was right, they needed that land.  The very thought of having to watch any of his clanmates - let alone Lichenfang and his kits - starve or succumb to sickness made his unsheathed claws dig into the packed earth floor of the den.  Every inch of his body screamed his answer before he ever opened his mouth; "Yes, we do need it.  It's going to be hard if we can't convince Ivystar to cooperate...a lot of our warriors have yet to face anything like a war...but it's necessary."  He paused, noticing Blizzardstar's less than comfortable demeanor regarding this situation.  His leader had a kind heart and a thoughtful mind, he knew that the last thing she wanted to see was cats injured or killed or weakened...and if all went well it was possible she could get her wish.  With an understanding gleam in his hazel eyes, Leopardclaw lowered his voice to a comforting rumble.  "Hopefully Ivystar will be sympathetic to our cause, and your negotiations will succeed.  I have confidence in you Blizzardstar, and so does the rest of the clan.  If worst does come to worst though, I promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure ThunderClan is victorious, and I'm sure that everyone out there would swear that as well.  We are strong of heart and strong of might...together as one, we can get through any trial."